Special Thanks to Tommy: George & Gracie’s Landlord

IMPORTANT: Messages from osprey experts

Rob Bierregaard July 1, 2015 at 7:24 am
I haven’t seen the little guy yet this morning, but I would be very surprised if he survived the night. That sure was tough to watch yesterday, but that whole process is as much a part of the essence of being an Osprey as is eating a fish. It’s part of the life of Ospreys that was rarely seen before we started putting cameras in nests. As hard as it is, we should not label the behavior as mean or cruel. Being mean or cruel implies that there is intent to do harm just for harm’s sake. Those young were responding to a set of stimuli (very little food being delivered to the nest and the presence of a very small young) in a way that evolution has hard-wired into them. It helps ensure their survival. Nature is not cruel. It is harsh, unforgiving, and often random (had the little guy been born 1st, he would have been just as aggressive as was his sibling), but not cruel or mean.

Paul Henry ospreyzone July 1, 2015 at 8:17 am
Thanks Rob for bringing your knowledge and experience to help us all gain perspective here. We are all saddened by the events that unfolded before our eyes and it’s only natural for all of us to feel and express our emotions appropriately. There have been many issues pertaining to intervention which have been discussed amongst us all. There is no doubt in my mind that the right decision was made, to let nature take it’s course. By the way, that doesn’t equate to heartless, on the contrary, nobody feels worse about this then the apparent decision makers. I say apparent, because when all was said and done, and all the issues were properly weighed, there really weren’t any other options. It was clearly pointed out, by experts, that intervening at this stage could have spooked the whole nest to the point of losing all the young. If the little one was saved, and nursed back to health, what kind of a life would it have had, perhaps caged up in a zoo. I remember when I was younger I saw a golden eagle in captivity, caged behind a wire mesh. I could practically see it’s tears. As far as placing the little one in another nest, such a low probability of success would never have justified the possibility of spooking the nest. There’s a piece of me, however heavy hearted, that believes that perhaps it is better to be born free and die free. We mourn for the little one as we marvel at the wonders of nature.

Reprinted with the permission of John W. Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Hello Paul,

Thanks for your query, and you have my admiration for persevering. We know very well how tough your job is, including dealing with an anxious public.

Our policy with our Bird Cams project is essentially “just say no” to pleas for interference. The behavior you are witnessing – while seemingly cruel and heartless to us – is natural for many kinds of birds, especially those that feed on variable, unpredictable food supplies. The little nestling does have a chance to survive, but if it does not then that result was “meant to be” by the nature of Osprey breeding strategy. The wonderful things about these nest cameras also sometimes yield the difficult things for us to watch. As you might know, we actually post a “siblicide alert” on some of our cams where we suspect the possibility exists.

I’m copying your note to Charles Eldermire, project leader for our Bird Cams. He may have some additional comments, and he would be the one to ask if we might be able to use your stored files for biological analysis.

It’s also important to acknowledge that intervening can also cause problems of its own—depending on the ages of the birds in the nest, disturbing them can trigger an early fledge. We have restricted the scenarios in which we would even consider intervening to injuries or dangers that are explicitly human-derived. For example, 3 or 4 years ago we were alerted by viewers that one of the osprey chicks at the Hellgate Osprey nest was entangled in monofilament line. We consulted with our partners there (wildlife biologists, raptor researchers, raptor rehabbers) to determine if the monofilament was an issue, and if intervening was both likely to solve the issue AND not have bad effects on the other nestlings. In the end, a quick trip to the nest was scheduled via a bucket truck, the monofilament was removed, and the nestlings all eventually fledged. In that case, all of the permits were already in hand to be studying the ospreys, and we had already discussed how to approach issues in the nest.

I’ve been to your site—great cam! And I noticed the runt in the nest. This is just normal Osprey reproduction. It happens all the time and you should not intervene. It’s tough to watch, but it’s how nature works. Ospreys almost always lay 3 eggs and on average fledge between 1 and 1.5 young each year. They stagger the hatch so there is a spread of ages in the young. That way, if food is short, the first-hatched (and therefore largest) will get enough food to survive while the smaller nest mates do not. If all three young were the same size and there was only enough food for 1 young, none of the young would get enough food and they would all die. If there’s lots of food, the smallest will eventually get fed and can survive. These nest cams can show some gut-wrenching scenes. The most infamous perhaps was one of the very first Osprey cams (on Long Island somewhere), where the smallest young died. One of the adults carried it out of the nest and after several minutes flew back into the nest and fed it to the other young. Waste-not-want-not at its goriest. At Hog Island up in Maine just last week a Bald Eagle came in and took the young out of the nest. Last year at another nest, cameras documented a Great-horned Owl taking young Ospreys out of a nest in NJ or MD. All of these things have been going on for millions of years and Ospreys are doing fine.

I am going to let someone else figure this out . Unless you already have as there are no new posts showing as I write this. It is 8:16 am PDT ( 11:16 EDT ) I have scrolled back 3:28 minutes to see the 3 rd egg laid. I guess that would make it closer to 8:00 something EDT.

9:51amEDT George came in for his turn….He ha been in around 9:30 and kind of leaned into Gracie, which may have been an offer to take over, but she just stayed. I haven’t seen any mating this a.m. so I;m guessing 3 is enough..And standard…..

At around 7:15 EDT ( doing the math backward from my time and the scroll back is difficult ) female laid her 3 rd egg. She was almost forced off the nest bowl by the male who wanted his turn so the 3rd egg was laid up a little higher on the nest. This was right after he brought in more of a plastic garbage bag. Maybe people need to put lids on there cans !! :)))

Gamma Carolyn: I get confused sometimes myself figuring out the scroll-back time, and I’m right here on Long Island!! I couldn’t imagine having to take into account time zone difference! Gracie did the last push at 7:46 am EDT. I couldn’t agree more — people need to, first of all, PUT their trash IN garbage cans and then cover the can with the lid!

Gracie rolled the third egg next to the other two and is resting comfortably on the eggs and George has brought three more HUGE sheets of whatever that stuff is that he seems to be so fond of bringing to the nest … it’s cloudy … so, maybe to use as rain gear?

Well, Gracie lays her third egg around 7:48 a.m. this morning. Poor mommy! George decides to sit on the the other two eggs, so she has to lay the egg elsewhere in the nest. Then, he proceeds to bring up loads of plastic and takes off. What a messy nest! I wonder if he wants to shield his family from the rain that is forecast for today. Now they will have to move the new baby to where the other ones are.

9:00amEDT 5/1 Happy May…I see #3 is here but I missed it! Now I see after the 7:45am pushing incident…Gracie dropped an egg on the upper right side of the nest cup!!! About 8:15 or so, she started rolling it down to the other two…at about 8:40, she is up chirping as George lands on perch, and the 3 eggs show clearly.

Gracie laid her 3rd egg out of the nest bowl. George was on the eggs and she just laid it where she was standing. She did roll it back under her after George left. I found a video of the 3rd egg being laid. https://youtu.be/HV37QaRYT00

@7:42amEDT George came in with a clawful, possibly plastic…he scooched his way onto the eggs and Gracie looked like she didn’t know how it happened. She huddled next to him and started chest pushing and angling her way back onto the eggs..really cute !!!

Liz B: Just seeing your comment. Birds fly and land into the wind for maximum lift and control of flight – like airplanes. So, they will come in and take off facing whichever way the crazy wind on the North Fork is blowing from!

7:45pmEDT 4/30 Is tomorrow egg day..? Day 3 in the cycle….gonna have to watch in the a.m. …They seem to have their routine down already, sharing nest shifts so well..I wasn’t on board last year until after all three eggs had hatched..I wonder if they did as well their first season…hope experience helps this time around…and the humans don’t killoff the bunkers…

Gracie returned at about 5:45 pm from her dinner break. Then at about 6:30 pm, George stopped in with a partial fish, but she was apparently too full from having eaten only 1 1/2 hours before, so he took off with it. The nest looked serene as it was fleetingly dappled by the setting sun. Gracie seems to be comfortably settled in for the night.

7:32pmEDT 4/30 Saying good-bye to April already…..quick….About 10mins, ago, Gracie yanked up some of the nicely buried plastic right in the nest bowl…she seemed to approve of the changes and snuggled right in…

At 4:58 pm, George, at long last, brought Gracie her second (headless) fish of the day! She couldn’t quite grasp it with her foot, so she flew off with it in her beak! She’s not back yet, so I’m guessing it arrived safely with her to a perch. The eggs are now in George’s sleepy care.

4/30/16 4:59pm Gracie was sitting in nest bowl for the 15 minutes I was watching. George appeared with a very nice size blue fish without its head (4:59). Gracie got up and showed us 2 beautiful speckled eggs. She grasped the fish and left the nest. George poked the nest bowl a few times and carefully sat on both eggs.

George flew into the nest with another large fish around 6:15 and proceeded to eat in front of Gracie. She wasn’t very happy about it and was fussing at him so he flew off with it. He returned with about half of it around 6:45 and gave it to Gracie. She returned later and George took off. He returned to give her a break on egg duty, which she immediately took advantage of. She returned after a nice break and settled back in on the eggs. They do such a good job of team work!

Looks like a tranquil day at the manor so far! Gracie and George have been alternating incubating the eggs, dozing and basking in the sun. Must be bliss for Gracie after being pelted by the rain in the wee hours of the morning!

04/30/20016 About 9:28 am Very peaceful AM with Gracie on the nest.She gets a visit from the sparrow family from downstairs. George flies in with no fish. They share a sleepy Good Morning peck on the beak and she flies off to the breakfast buffet. George takes over the brooding duties.

April 30th @ 7:40 a.m. (EST) George decided to cover up that piece of bark with seaweed that he brought in yesterday. It was really annoying Gracie yesterday but she managed had managed to move it away from the middle of the nest. I wish he would cover up that piece of rosebush clipping that is still visible so that the thorns won’t be a hazard to the babies when they start to move around. It was bothering G&G a few days ago till Gracie managed to secure it with a branch. But the thorns are still in a bad location.

Gracie returned to the nest a few minutes ago. When George didn’t get up off the eggs right away, Gracie gave him looks and quiet chirps, like asking “Are you going to get up?” George looked like he was just enjoying the view and peacefulness of the morning and was in no hurry to get started with the hustle and bustle of the day!

6:10amEDT 4/30/16 Poor Gracie…..all wet and bedraggled….must have been a rough night…..But the sun is peeking up at the horizon and breakfast arrived at 6:14…or not..George decided he was still a little hungry and took it out to clean off some more of that fishhead…

At 7 pm, I scrolled back to see what I’d missed. At about the -3hr 45 min mark, George landed in the nest with seaweed. As Gracie was starting to get up off the eggs, George reached down and pulled on her feathers – it almost looked as if he was pulling her up. She didn’t react negatively toward him, though, when he did that. Did he think he was picking up the seaweed? If so, I’m beginning to seriously think he has poor eyesight, especially with the way he so often lands on top of Gracie when he returns to the nest and plops things down on top of her!! I’ve read articles describing osprey courtship behavior, but I don’t recall pulling on feathers as one of them! There have not been any comments posted since the afternoon, so I don’t if anyone else saw this and what they think!

Betsy, go to youtube and search for ” Maya pulling wing ” you should find a video of an Osprey truing to get its mate off the eggs so he can sit on them. There are a lot of good ones , if you look around for Osprey.

Gamma Carolyn: Thank you SO much for letting me know … I watched the video … that was too too funny! Who knew??!! I can just hear the one telling the other one “C’MON … C’MON… hurry … get UP! It’s MY turn now!!” And the other one saying “But, I’m soooo comfortable … Oh, all right!”

A similar happening here now! — but Cablevision-related. Cable guys working around corner … cable off, cable on … they left, they came back later to same pole … cable off, cable on! I feel like running out and telling them “Really?, the same pole? Go home now, guys.” They look like they’re packing up, now … I hope for the night!!

Nope, they’re not done yet! I stepped outside and saw them coming out of the neighbor’s house across the street. The neighbor was outside … I heard him ask “What’s up, guys?” “Maintenance work”. They have to do it now?? Why not in the middle of the night??

At 6:03 EST Gracie started screeching acting as though there was an intruder but then she flew off for a minute or so and came back. Not sure what is going on. I wouldn’t think she would leave the eggs.

5:55pmEDT 4/29 YAAAYYYYYY!!!!! dinner is served…good sized headless fish….George takes over child care…I think Gracie was getting anxious..she had been chirping…I guess it’s possible George sat close by to eat his share of the fish and Gracie was hurrying him along…that’s what happens when Verizon Vic comes home with fish..he sits on his post while Vera calls for her share….

Michael: I just wanted to let you know that you don’t have to reply to a comment to be able to post a comment, unless you want to. You can also post a comment as a stand-alone post, if you like. Scroll way way way down to the bottom of the page to the “Leave a Comment” box and enter your remark.

I am so glad that George & Gracie are back. I will be watching every day with bated breath. Last year was a joy & a heartbreaker, but we have to realize that this is how nature works. Sometimes it’s magical & wonderful, sometimes it’s brutal & heartbreaking. There is another osprey pair nesting on top of the Suffolk County National Bank building in Riverhead. They must be new in town. It’s all so amazing. So glad that the osprey population is back up, thanks to the outlawing of DDT. Thank you so much for your hard work in making the videos so we can all enjoy taking part in their lives!!!

Just scrolling back: I see that the second piece of bark (?) that George brought earlier was just too much for Gracie smack dab in the middle of the nest! When she had trouble moving it over – the wind repeatedly blew it back – I was waiting for her to chuck it over the side of the nest!! About a half hour later, Gracie, alone on the nest, appeared to go into her begging call, then quickly and briefly postured into intruder mode, then went back to a begging call as the shadow of a flying osprey (George?) was cast onto the nest; a few minutes later George joined Gracie, then both he and Gracie went into a brief intruder mode … the intruder apparently got the message, because Gracie settled back down on the eggs and George flew away with his fish. Boy, I wish I could see what was going on overhead!! About 10 minutes later, George briefly popped back into nest (still with the fish) and then again about 25 or so minutes later (still with the fish – that fish has more air miles!), staying a few minutes before flying off with the fish. None for Gracie! George returned about 15 minutes later with seaweed for the nest and took over incubation, giving Gracie a well-deserved, although brief, reprieve – actually, more like a quick bathroom break of only a few minutes! – before joining her up on the perch for a lickety-split mating session. Then back to the grind for Gracie.

Just something to bring to everyone’s attention, everyone thanks Paul and Tommy and others but wake up people it is Tommy and Christina’s whom I believe is Tommy’s wife property she never seems to get a thank you as well.
The site has her name on it too.
Just thought I would mention that.
So let’s give a shout out to Christina for all the times we didn’t thank her. Everyone have a good day!

About 12;35pmEDT 4/49 George came in to give Gracie a break…she was gone just minutes and came back to take over again..On arrival, George had a seaweed bouquet for his sweetie, which he almost draped ON her…

4-29-16 Have not posted in awhile but we had another beak kiss today. I got lots of pics. I just love it when I can ketch those precious moments. Intruder allot today poor Gracie cant even get a days rest after having labor and an egg yesterday, between Geo going in for quickies and the intruder who loves to push her buttons. Female ospreys have to have allot of patience since they try and rely on the male osprey during breeding time. Here is hoping she has a 3rd egg!

11:56amEDT 4/29 Glad to see George is staying nearby..he has been in and out the past few minutes,,,seeing that shadow gliding over Gracie as she protected her nest was very ominous!!!!! Not to be an alarmist. 4 days ago.I saw an eagle pass over as I was crossing over the Peconic River on rt.105, on my way to work…as the bird flies, that’s maybe 20-25 miles from East Marion…I believe there are also a nesting pair on Shelter Island..just a good spit away…..as happy as we are for the eagles returning to L.I., I now cringe for the safety of “OUR FAMILY”…

I just saw a male sparrow land right next to whoever is on the nest, hop around & pick up grass for their own nest. The osprey watched, but otherwise ignored him, even tho Mr. Sparrow hopped around right next to the osprey. The neighbors are allowed to borrow nest material?

Sue: The other viewers and I frequently see sparrows, and sometimes starlings, hopping around on the nest “stealing” grass and small twigs for their own use! I usually saw them when the osprey was not in the nest, but now they seem to be more brazen! (I don’t know that I would if I was a little bird, or even any bird, even though ospreys eat almost exclusively (some 99%) live fish and will “only occasionally, when fish aren’t available, will the osprey eat small mammals, birds, or reptiles.” (http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/osprey)

And, here’s something interesting that I read: “Ospreys nests are used by many other species of birds. Smaller cavity-nesting species, such as common grackles, tree swallows, barn swallows, European starlings and house sparrows build nests inside osprey nests. Other larger species take over osprey nests for their own use in the spring before the resident ospreys return. In North America, these species include great blue herons, Canada geese, bald eagles, Red-tailed hawks, Great horned owls, herring gulls and common ravens.” (Poole, et al., 2002) (from http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Pandion_haliaetus/)

11:17amEDT George brought in a fish..Gracie wasn’t interested so he took off….Gra was tired of the decor so she has been rearranging,,about 11:05ish, she wrestled a big piece of pinebark to the left side; she seemed pleased with the new look….

11:10amEDT 4/29 MichaelG Martin…..on mating..they do it a LOT,,if an egg were produced for each session, eggs would be raining down to the beach below!! Guess they just want to be thorough……….From what I ‘ve read, they will to continue to mate until Gracie has produced all the eggs for this year’s clutch…generally 2-3, sometimes 4

11:36am Busy sparrow has been in and out..always takes a parting gift….it’s adorable to see the size difference and that there is no aggression or fear….Gracie just started chirping and stood up..11:37…there was a glimpse of a wing and the shadow of someone above the nest..George dropped in and backed her up, then floated off again with his fish still in claw…

5:30amEDT 4/29/16 Gracie was up and futzing with the nest…George dropped in 10 mins. later and sent Gracie off for her morning exercise….In and out a few times;talking turns at brooding, not the mating, which is happening, too……
The wind is really whipping up, pushing the waves into shore…no rain in forecast til tonight…

While trying to find other osprey info, I stumbled upon this that I think will put all of our minds to rest about George and Gracie not really incubating the egg Tuesday morning (and other really interesting info): “…Newly laid eggs, before incubation has begun, can withstand a lot of chilling. It’s much more damaging for an egg that has been incubated for a while to cool off. …” (The Incredible Egg by Rob Bierregaard http://fergusonmuseum.org/the-incredible-egg/).

7:40pmEDT 4/28/16 I watched til 7am this morning…darn this job anyway!! Glad to see egg 2..and good to see they have managed to corral the plastic at least temporarily. I know it’s not unusual to find plastic in the nest..it just gets annoying to see it flapping in the wind…….

Hello all, I haven’t logged on in a while. Last time I viewed the nest, there was one large egg. I couldn’t believe how big it was. When I started watching last year, they were all hatched so didn’t realize the eggs are so large. So, are there any more eggs?

Female ospreys lay from 1 to 4 eggs, but usually 3, at 1 to 3 day intervals and incubates them for about 38 days per egg. They are about the size of a large chicken egg, with the first egg being the largest and each subsequent egg smaller than the previous one.

This might have been mentioned before and I missed it, but has anyone else noticed that they always seem to fly off from the nest to the left and return from the right? Wonder if it has to do with air currents or just habit for them.

Had a senior moment of confusion just now! I pulled up the site to see what was going on, and George was on the nest. A few minutes later Gracie flew in with a half of a fish and gave it to George! To say the least I was very confused, until I scrolled back! Around 9:30 Gracie was on the nest and suddenly got very upset. She was squawking and stood, and then an intruder flew over. She remained up and upset, as I’m guessing the same bird did a fly by. Hope this bird doesn’t cause issues later!! Things were quiet then for awhile, and at 10:45 George brought a HUGE headless fish to Gracie. She took off with it and George took over nesting duties. Gracie then returned around 11:45 with a large remaining portion of the fish and passed it to George. That is where I had tuned in and thus the confusion. You just need the whole story sometimes!!

April 28 @ about 10:40 EST George arrived with a headless Moby Dick sized fish which he was hanging on to till Gracie managed to get it away from him and fly off. He them put himself over the eggs to warm them while Gracie was away. That fish was so big she may not return from eating it till tonight.

I see we have egg #2 in the nest- looks like it’s been there since this morning about 8:30 AM. Gracie was working on it yesterday I thought, so I’m not surprised to see it there. Are we going for names yet???

At about 16:12 hrs saw George attempt to mate with Gracie
Question: Do they have to mate every time to produce One Egg and I order to produce Three Eggs then as many mating attempts to produce an egg or is it a one time deal for her to get pregnant and then produce as many eggs that she can lay

Michael, I hope this helps: Although sperm may be viable within the oviduct for some time, likelihood of fertilization drops after a couple of days. Mating occurs multiple times over a 2 week period in order to raise the odds of fertilizing ova as they mature in sequence to form the clutch. (http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/education/ospreycam/)

In a successful copulation the sperm travel to the female’s oviduct. This is where the various stages of egg development occur. First, the sperm fertilizes an egg which has been produced during ovulation and already has a yolk. Then the principal coating of albumin is applied before the outer and inner shell membranes are added. These stages take about 5 hours. Next the calcareous shell forms. The background pigments are laid down. The egg stays within the uterus for about 20 hours and tiny glands excrete the streaks and patterns that result in the darker markings on the shell. Finally the egg is laid! The eggs weigh between 60 and 80g and are about the size of duck eggs. The background colour ranges from off white to pale brown, the mottling is red or dark brown. (https://kielderospreys.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/copulation-and-laying-eggs-a-bit-of-a-biology-lesson/)

I tried to post link yesterday to video of George and Gracie’s first egg of 2016 to make it easier for people (seems there was a lot of interest and disappointment), but post didn’t go through. So, I’m trying again now. Video does link back to Osprey Zone, so, no harm, no “fowl”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G67pCxp5-Y

That’s because you’re not getting notification of follow-up comments by email or new posts by email!!! 😉 But then again, as CarolV pointed out, when comments finally get posted, tons of notification emails flood in. (Sorry, Aidan and/or Paul, we love the site and know that you are working hard and working hard to make it more efficient, but I just couldn’t resist!!) It was even more confusing a few days ago, but OZ made it a lot better.

Leesa I have noticed that with the first egg laid you can always tell she is ” in labor ” so to speak. But all eggs laid after the first you have little warning. This may be because the first egg is usually the biggest so it probably paves the way for the others :))))))))

Leesa: I hope you don’t mind my adding, Gamma Carolyn, but another thing I’ve observed (at least with Gracie, I don’t know if it applies to all female osprey in general) is that imminent to her laying the egg, she’ll appear to defecate over the side of the nest several times without actually defecating. Whether she just has an urge “to go” or whether its an intention clearing the cloaca (“cloaca: The body cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital canals empty in birds, reptiles, amphibians, most fish, and monotremes. The cloaca has an opening for expelling its contents from the body, and in females it serves as the depository for sperm. Also called vent.”), that I don’t know.,

I noticed she did that with the first egg. And, since women often have the urge to go to the bathroom during active labor because of the pressure of the baby, I just kind of extended that to Gracie — especially since everything comes out of one opening!! 🙂

Gamma Carolyn: Nothing like getting teased with “Betsy Wetsy” while growing up!! 🙂 Everything I’ve read (as from my posts you can see I’ve been doing a lot of that! 🙂 , says 1 to 3 days between eggs, and I was really hoping for 1 day between, but settling for 2, and getting tortured by 3!! 🙂

Betsy, If I recall that doll was not allowed in the house although I think someone did have it. TOO many years ago to remember. Reading is how we all learn and listening to the experts. Even at that nothing is a definate such as how many days between eggs. I think that is also why many Osprey wont really start incubating the eggs until they have all been laid so that there is a closer hatch. Once the laying starts it does make it hard to wait just as once the hatches begin you want them all hatched like ” Yesterday “

about5:50amEDT4/28/16 George came in to take his turn..As Gracie left, her claw dislodged some seaweed/shell clump and dislodged some odd object..thought it might be a horseshoe crab shell, but that’s just a guess..a while later, it seemed to annoy George. He got up just before 6 and purposely rearranged that clump to hide whatever that was….the phagmite seemed to bother him, too, since it was right in his face..
Gracie came back about 6:15am and George went off to work….

There goes George fussing with the stuff around him! I am so glad Tommy had the platform built and that Paul set up the website! And, I’m so glad George picked this site for a nest; he sure is Mr. Personality! I love Gracie, but she doesn’t quite have George’s charm!

George brought Gracie half of a HUGE fish at about 5:00, which she took and flew off to eat. George then proceeded with nesting duties, and ended up fighting off another intruder around 5:45. You can see it flying off to the left of the nest, but I can’t tell if it’s another Osprey or and Eagle. Maybe some of you that have the equipment to zoom in can tell. Either way, he was successful, and settled back down on the egg till Gracie returned shortly afterwards. I will say his fishing skills so far have been awesome! Let’s just hope and pray the supply continues to be plentiful!!

I remember reading several people’s questions about molt on OZ, and since we were discussing Gracie’s feathers recently, I felt this would be interesting: “… Most birds drop feathers out and regrow new ones in such a way that they replace their feathers about once a year. … although adult Ospreys replace their flight feathers once a year, they do it in a much more extended fashion. Ospreys will drop one or several primaries on a side and start regrowing a feather to replace it. Once these new feathers get pretty long, the next feather is dropped. This molting strategy is called “Staffelmauser” which means “molt wave” in German. This wave of molting means that the airfoil of the birds’ wings is never too aerodynamically compromised by having huge gaps in their wings. … it takes an Osprey about a month to completely regrow a big primary feather. Since molting is so energetically expensive, Ospreys divide up molting over the course of the year, and put molting on hold during energetically-stressful times – migrating and breeding. … What this Staffelmauser molting means that is at any one time, an Osprey can have three generations of feathers on its body. If you look closely at some of Iris’ feathers, you can see that some are old and worn with frayed edges. These are feathers that are a year old or so. Next to these worn feathers you can see fresh feathers with crisp, unworn edges. These are new feathers that have been regrown recently. (from: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=165072613556909&story_fbid=757263337671164)

Around 15:56 hrs saw Gracie starting to feather the best more so than in the past
Does anyone notice that the diameter and circumference of the nest is getting larger
I predict a second Egg is on its Way

Can anyone say why George, when he’s sitting on the eggs, sometimes puts the stuff he’s fussing with on his BACK?? Seems to me almost as if he’s fidgety and bored and trying to find something fun to do in his own bird way!

7:20amEDT 4/27/16 Just around 6 G & G did a trade-off…Gracie’s getting her exercise…She was gone about 15 mins…she took egg duty while George went to work….
George brought in 1/2 fish about 7:10am which Gracie took away…and Geo was back on egg….

A couple of minutes before 5:30 am, Gracie got up off the egg and as she stepped to the side, you could see her left talon was snagged on something and it was jostling the egg. I sure was hoping that when she flew away, the egg didn’t fly out of the nest with her!! George is incubating egg now.

keeping it simple…Gracie noticeably has highlights- mixture of feathers making her look fuller and possibly bigger.George is a more solid darker color hope that helps,
its what has always made it easier for me tell the difference 😉

Scrolled back to from about noon to now … George and Gracie must have read the comments 🙂 and picked up a timer 🙂 because from then until now they’ve been alternating incubating shifts about every 30 to 40 minutes or so!!

Scrolled back: From about 8:45 am to about 11:45 am, was mostly seeing George breezing in and out — more out than in — bringing sticks, seaweed, and phragmite to the nest and sitting on egg for brief periods of time, Gracie was mostly MIA and there were long periods when no one was in attendance at nest (maybe up on perch, though). Got a good look at George’s (L) upper chest wound — appears healed with just small patch of no feathers. This HAS to be in Highlights: About 10:10 am, George tried to land on nest with a stick and as he was grabbing the stick with his beak to place it, because his wings were outstretched he was lifted up, up, and away(!) by the wind (dragging the stick with him… still in his beak). He was finally able to fight the wind and land with the stick. Another funny moment: About 10 minutes before that, Gracie left nest and George decided to move one of the sticks. I was reminded of Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” when she was returning to the farmhouse from Professor Marvel’s wagon as the twister was approaching!!

1:31pmEDT 4/26/16 Betsy…It looks ,to me, that Gracie has more “edging” on her feathers, a hint of white tracing, which makes her feathers look more separated and disheveled…or as you suggest..a little dab ‘il do ya…..

Maybe … but I just looked at pictures of Gracie with fully outstretched wings and it looks more like there are whole light feathers scattered among the dark feathers, and you know how a flag frays at the edges?, well she’s got a whole lot of that going on. My understanding is that during the incubation, she’ll lose feathers in stages (not all at once) and symmetrically (matching feathers on both sides of her body will be replaced) — so, maybe we’ll have a less patchy rumpled-looking Gracie!

12:32 ET- Gracie got off the egg long enough to have birdie sex, then got back on. George just flew in, landed on her & did his thing & left. They’ve been doing this since she got back to this nest- enough for dozens of eggs!

Did the camera angle get changed a little? I know one day I was watching & she flew off the nest & sat on the camera flapping her wings & bounced the camera a bit. If so, this might be better- when the chicks (?) fledge, it may give us a better view at this angle. Again, thank you. I’m a 65 YO granny who grew up on a Riverhead farm & I still live in the same house and always been curious about all of this! I can’t tell you how much joy watching this gives me! Birds fascinate me, as do fish, but the Osprey was always my favorite, next to my parrot!!

It depends on the outside temp Phil. Sometimes a female will sit then get off the egg alot. It is believed she does this to bring hatching closer in time between eggs. A hour isint long if the sun has been out and warmed up the surround seaweed. But a hour is a long time for another bird to swoop in and get the egg or eggs. A experienced parent will be very close though/

Tues. 4/26 9:53 A>M> (EST) I scrolled back to watch what happened in the last 4 hours and saw at about 6:45 Gracie picked up a large stick and placed it on top of that green thorny thing that I was concerned about. Both G&G tried many times yesterday to move it away from the middle of the nest. It has thorns on it so it is caught in the plastic on the left side. It was really annoying them yesterday so Gracie finally decided to secure it. Amazing how she knew it was a problem and found a solution. I hope George brings in some seaweed and covers it up completely. The thorns are still visible.

Thanks to those who observed that Gracie removed that string from her talon. But unfortunately it is still in the nest.

Concerned. Today April 26about 9 am the egg was left unprotected twice this morning. Both Gracie and George left the nest. Is this normal?? I have been watching osprey cams for 3 years and have always seen the eggs protected by at least one parent .

I remember someone mentioning that Bald Eagles will wait to “hard incubate” until all eggs are laid. They will sit on the first egg, but not back-to-back, and will sometimes stand nearby rather than brood. Once all area laid, they will start the back-t-oback brooding.

I wonder if the same is done with Osprey. It makes sense, in order to keep development as close together as possible.

Michael G. Martin: I am starting this as a new message instead of a reply to your “reply” of April 26th (because the replies and the secondary replies to the replies after the OZ April 25, “2017” was moved to the top, which is then followed by the Aidan April 19, “2017” post and its replies is making everything look out of whack!! Hint hint, Aidan or Paul).

The easiest way to tell Gracie and George apart, I think, is that Gracie’s feathers look more “patchy” and “unkempt” than George’s.

George
Larger ”shield”-shaped marking on front of top of head and “osprey” shape on back of head
Dark mark halfway up in the center of the inside of each his wings
Smooth dark wing and tail feathers
Smaller and more tapered

Gracie
Narrower ”cone”-shaped marking on front of top of head, followed by “- =” and rectangular shape on back of head
Dark mark on right side of chest (sort of heart-shaped) but not on left
”Patchy” looking wing and tail feathers
Larger and more boxy-shaped

Oops, I noticed just now that I hadn’t finished my last line! It should have been: Their eye stripes are different, and although both have speckles on the breast, Gracie has more than George and they’re darker; but these are finer points.

I read something interesting: “Osprey egg temperature is regulated, in response to the environment, by varying the length of time she sits on them. Ospreys can sense the egg temperature with receptors in their brood patches. This helps them regulate their attentiveness (time spent incubating) more accurately. Since the embryo itself increasingly generates heat as it develops, periods of attentiveness generally decline as incubation progresses. Eggs are turned periodically – osprey turn their eggs every 20 to 40 minutes. The turning helps to warm the eggs more evenly, and to prevent embryonic membranes from sticking to the shell. (https://ospreytaleteller.com/2014/05/01/incubation-3/)

And just to expand on the brood patch: “The brood patch is a bare area on the bird’s stomach where hot blood is close to the surface of the skin and extra heat is generated. Both the osprey parents have a brood patch, although the female’s is larger … The bird can use its skin muscles to open the feathers and expose the patch, which they press against the eggs. Birders are always saddened to find a dead bird with a brood patch because it means the adult had eggs or chicks nearby.” (http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/osprey_cam_blog06/archives/000145.html)

After “rockin'” around, Gracie hopped back down to nest; George came back a few minutes later with more seaweed and Gracie took off. George on nest now about 1/2 hour. Raining here in Nassau County where I am, but not windy.

Poor Gracie – it’s raining … she looks so bedraggled. George flew in to nest a few minutes before 6 am with seaweed. Gracie flew up to perch, then George did; then activity and I had to think of CarolV’s “when the camera’s arockin’ don’t come aknockin’” I love how, when it’s really windy, they can just spread their wings and whoosh, up they go!!

Hi All
Sorry for my last post. I have a shortcut for typing and didn’t read the finished comment ( No Glasses )
Is there any distinguishing markings that we may differentiate from a Male from a Female Osprey. I’ve done quite a bit of research last year along with everyone else. And there were a lot of ways that others use to tell Gracie from George. I a vision problem and it’s hard to distinguish the finer points
So if anyone has any suggestions that would be great

Monday, April 25 6-6:50 PM
I am a little concerned about Gracie. She seems at once very restless and then very lethargic. What concerned me the most is that she refused the fish George brought her.
I am thinking that maybe another egg is coming and she is uncomfortable… I hope that is all it is.
Has anyone seen her eat today?

6:20pmEDT 4/25/16 Got to see George bring in a nice big whole fish about 4:00pm. Gracie left with it, leaving George to take a turn..About 6ish, Geo brought in a 1/2 fish, which Gra said “no, thank you” to, so he left with it…
I love watching Gracie settle on the egg..she practically does a face plant to get the right spot on her chest over that egg….

There is definitely some black type of nylon? string? fishing line? wrapped around her lower right leg just above her right foot and some dangling threads there too. Appears a bit tight – hope she will be ok. Go back to -1.30 (?) and watch her legs.

April 25- I noticed it too, right after she had the egg. She seemed to want to move and was tugging slightly with that leg. I’m glad she freed herself but that twine does look awfully tight and I do think it might be bothering her. I just hope it wiggles its way off.

April 25- Approximately 12:20- George lands next to Gracie with a fish. I guess he didnt want to drag it over to her so he flew off with it over the water, turned around, flew back and landed with a thud right in front of her as if to say “Here. Eat.” She didnt and he flew off. Good effort George!

Thanks to Paul for all your hard work! Have been watching the site for two years now and it is a major part of everyday, So happy to see the 1st egg has arrived. Good luck to George and Gracie is having a successful family this year. Will be watching as things develop.

They have mated MANY times. They were very active. It is my understanding it is very difficult to band the adults unless a trap is set. Sounds dangerous to me but I am no expert. The youngsters before they fledge can be banded but that takes some effort to get to the nest. It would be very interesting to track these beautiful creatures but that is being somewhat greedy. Interfering in nature is never without risk.

11:09 G and G are both in the nest,,,,, Grace has something wrapped around her ankle……. I hope she gets it loose soon……. She isn’t really keeping her egg warm yet but maybe she’s uncomfortable…….I’m not sure if the nest has more nesting material than last year or if it’s the closer view……

April 25 @ 10:34 a.m. (EST) Just got a good look at her foot and there is that black string or whatever that is wrapped around her foot. Hopefully she can remove it . She won’t be leaving the nest now that she has laid an egg but that definitely will be a problem. Also I don’t know when that green twig was brought to the nest but both G&G were trying to move it away from were it is now. It seems to have thorns on it so maybe a piece of rosebush clipping but it is so tangled at the end where the plastic is that they just couldn’t move it .It could be dangerous to the babies when they start getting around in the nest. Hopefully George will continue to attempt to move it and will be successful. They both seemed to be aware that it shouldn’t be where it is. I was hoping that earlier today before it got tangled in to the nest that one of them would pick it up and fly away with ii but they didn’t and now it is a problem as is Gracie”s foot situation. And the drama begins..

Hi, Paul, welcome home! You must have hundreds of viewers who are addicted to Osprey Zone. I truly love the glimpses you have given me into nature and getting up close with George and Gracie. And, you sure timed your return perfectly. I see Gracie laid her first egg this year. Congratulations! Thanks to you and Tommy for all you have done for us ospreyites. Living on Long Island, George and Gracie are especially “special” to me. Can’t wait to meet their new babies. Also, your website is the best because of the four-hour window. Thanks, again.

First egg laid approx. 8:40 am Nest still needs work but it is getting there. This male and female have been back the longest of the 6 nests I follow, 4 of which had to rebuild there nests from scratch and not always in the best of weather conditions. One nest had at least 4 inches of snow dumped on it 3 times. 2 nests have 3 eggs so far and 1 nest has 2. 1 nest the female is still waiting for her mate. So this couple is a bit behind. Hopefully they will ( the male now ) will step it up as far as the nest goes , and raise a nice family And maybe if we ask nicely they will quite bringing in the plastic bags :)))

George is getting the first look at his egg. He dropped a rather large stick on Gracie’s back when he landed in the nest, which they both moved out of the way. Can someone who knows more than I do tell us about what seems to be a bonding or marking ritual that he is doing? Gracie got up and moved so George could see the egg. He proceeded to check it out, and I’m wondering if he is actually cleaning any thing off of it. then he seems to lay on it and rub his chest on it. Now he is actually the one sitting on it, giving Gracie time to rest I guess. Such good team work!!!

Leesa, I don’t know that he really bonding but rather just looking at it. What looks like him cleaning the egg is him poking around the nest bowl to fluff it and ariate the nest . When he lays on it he is probably using his feet to dig the bowl deeper. This helps keep the egg at the right temp as well as makes it more comfy. Most males will spend tim sitting on the eggs just to give mom a break . Some almost try to kick mom off so they have a turn. They may not start to really sit on the eggs full time until they have all been laid in hopes they will hatch about the same time. Sorry about the crappy spelling :)) Hope this helps.

Yes! Thank you for the information. I’m learning so much from those of you that are more experienced with this stuff. All so very interesting to me, and fascinating to watch for sure. I was so lucky that this morning I was able to tune in at a time I’m normally busy getting ready for work, and got to see the egg laying live! Thanks again for the information.

Monday, April 25th at approximately 8:45, our Gracie laid her first egg. George flew in with a stick, saw that he was a daddy, and took over making room in the nest and sitting on the egg. What a honor to be witness to this today.

At about 8:50 a.m. (EST) today April 25th Gracie laid an egg. Yippee!!!!! I have been watching since about 7 a.m. and was concerned because she seemed to have that black string or whatever it is wrapped around her leg. Now that she laid that egg I can’t tell if she is free of it or not. That black whatever was wrapped around her leg last week but she flew off and it stayed in the nest. I hope it isn’t going to be an ongoing hazard. I just looked and she is sitting on the egg and I think I see that black string is still around her leg. In any case we have one egg right now.